


A-Camping We Will Go

by benjji2795



Series: Jonnor [11]
Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff, M/M, Summer Camp, weekend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 13:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4566510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjji2795/pseuds/benjji2795
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jude and Connor go to camp to spend some time together, just the two of them, but over the course of the camp, they quickly make friends with another young gay couple they just happen to be sharing their cabin with.  Finding that the two went through difficulties similar to the ones their new friends are facing, Jude and Connor find themselves in a position where they have to step in to help their friends before their relationship falls apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A-Camping We Will Go

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of took a chance with this fic here, creating a new couple and inserting them into the story in order to have conflict/angst without foisting it on to Jude and Connor, so y'all could still get the cute, fluffy moments between them. Also this got really long but I have no regrets because I think it works best as a one-shot. Hope y'all enjoy this :)

“Connor, wake up!” Jude whined, pouncing on Connor’s bed and shaking him awake.

 

“Jude,” Connor groaned, burrowing his head deeper into his pillow, “it’s too early!”

 

“We’re going to be late for camp if you don’t get up!” Jude implored.  Connor only whimpered, staying unmoving in his bed.  Jude knew just how to get Connor up though, reaching over and wiggling his fingers into Connor’s side through the blankets, tickling him.  Almost as fast as lightning, Connor grabbed Jude’s wrists, gently pulling Jude onto his chest.  It was a fairly awkward position for Jude; his legs hanging off the bed and his upper body lying on Connor, but he didn’t notice, instead mesmerized by the hazel eyes fluttering open just inches away from his face.

 

“Morning,” Connor breathed out.  Jude leaned his head forward, capturing Connor’s lips in a short, chaste kiss.

 

“Morning Con,” he whispered back.  “You excited?”

 

“To spend the next few days with my boyfriend?  You bet,” Connor smiled.

 

“Boys, we need to get going!” Adam called out from the living room.

 

“We better get moving if we actually want to make it,” Jude giggled, attempting to roll off Connor even though Connor still had a hold of his arms.  “Jeez Connor, your dad is so impatient!”

 

“I know, it really gets annoying sometimes,” Connor whined in annoyance.  He rolled out of bed to reveal himself fully clothed, already wearing his outfit for the day.

 

“You must have been pretty excited last night to sleep in that,” Jude commented, grabbing Connor’s backpack and slinging it over his shoulder, as his backpack was already in Adam’s car.

 

“I wouldn’t say excited, I was just thinking that since we had to get up at 7:00 AM and I wanted to get as much sleep as possible, I should already be dressed to save like five minutes,” Connor grumbled, staggering groggily out into the living room behind Jude.

 

“Ready to go?” Adam asked, giving Jude a light pat on the back as he walked past.

 

“You bet Mr. Stevens!” Jude chirped, already fully awake, in contrast to sleepy Connor, who just grunted something unintelligible in response.

 

“Alright then, let’s hit the road!  And please Jude, call me Adam!” Adam exclaimed, walking after Jude who was already out the door.  They all got in the car, with Jude and Connor sitting in the backseat of Adam’s sedan.  Connor settled into the middle seat, wanting to sit as close to Jude as possible.  His eyelids still felt heavy, falling over his eyes almost of their own accord.  Jude gently wrapped his hand around Connor’s head, guiding it onto his shoulder, Connor quickly falling asleep there.  Adam watched the scene through his rearview mirror, chuckling softly to himself.  There was no doubting the two of them were cute together.  He wondered why he was so reluctant about their relationship in the first place; it was obvious they were perfect for each other.  Adam turned his eyes back onto the road, shaking his head lightly at his own naivety.

 

* * *

  

Backpacks over their shoulders, Jude and Connor walked behind Adam towards the registration table, hand in hand, fingers laced together.

 

“Names?” the male teenager at the table asked dully.

 

“Jude Adams-Foster and Connor Stevens,” Adam replied.

 

“You two are in Cabin #3 with Nathan and Jason,” the boy said, jerking his head in the direction of their cabin.

 

“And I think that’s my cue to head out.  Now you both better behave yourselves,” Adam commented, his eyes narrowing on the two of them.

 

“Dad!” Connor hissed, earning a chortle from Adam.

 

“Have fun!  But not too much fun!” he cheered, turning and striding back up to his car.

 

 _“DAD!”_ Connor shouted.  Adam just waved over his shoulder, the sound of his laughter floating back over his shoulder on the wind back to them.

 

“So it’s just you and me now,” Jude said, grinning at Connor.

 

“Well, there’s Nathan and Jason too.  We need to deal with them first,” Connor said, his lips pursing together in an almost straight line.

 

“Right,” Jude replied, the two of them turning and shuffling up towards their cabin.  In his excitement, Jude almost forgot that since they were spending this camp as a couple, they had to deal with coming out, basically to the whole camp first.  They didn’t expect any trouble, but they both had explicit instructions from Stef, Lena, and Adam to call at the first sign of anything like it.  Stepping into the cabin, they looked around.  It was small and quite rustic looking, dimly lit with round, wooden logs visible in the construction of the walls.  But more interestingly were the two bunk beds, upon which bottom bed of one of them, the two found the other two boys in their cabin straddling each other, passionately making out.  Jude doubled over in laughter, but Connor turned red, embarrassed that they had walked in on them.  The boys heads shot up, turning to look at Jude who could barely breathe he was laughing so hard.

 

“O-oh we’re so sorry,” Connor stuttered as the other two started scrambling out of the bed, frantically smoothing out their clothes and fixing their hair, cheeks flushed.

 

“I told you we should’ve been more careful!” the shorter of the two whispered harshly.  “And look, now we got caught!”

 

“Dude, relax!  Why don’t you look at them,” the other boy shot back, his eyes falling on Jude and Connor’s entwined hands.  “I’m Jason,” he continued, turning to them, offering his hand to Connor.

 

“I-I’m Connor,” Connor spluttered, still feeling very flustered.  “And this is Jude, my boyfriend,” he added quickly, as Jude had yet to recover from his laughing fit.

 

“O-oh wow um, I’m Nathan, Jason’s boyfriend,” Nathan said, chuckling nervously, eyes trained down at his feet.  “How is it that we ended up in a cabin with another gay couple?”

 

“I don’t know, but this is like the funniest thing ever!” Jude exclaimed, having finally caught his breath.  “So much for having to worry about who we were going to be sharing our cabin with!” he said turning to Connor as he spoke.

 

“Ditto,” Jason muttered to Nathan.  “Told you there was nothing to worry about.”

 

“Can you not give me this ‘I-told-you-so’ crap right now Jason, at least not when Jude and Connor are right here,” Nathan complained.

 

“Guys, camp meeting in five minutes, you better start heading down,” one of the camp counselors interrupted, poking their head in through the cabin door.  Jude and Connor dropped their bags on the bed opposite to the one they just found Jason and Nathan in, heading out with them.  Jude immediately took Connor’s hand (which they had briefly disconnected so they could take their backpacks off), the two of them walking along with the other two boys, who curiously, were not doing the same.

 

“So how long have you been together?” Jason asked as they were walking.  Jude and Connor looked at each other, trying to figure it out.

 

“Couple months,” Jude shrugged.  “I don’t know exactly, it’s kind of complicated.”  Connor nodded in agreement.

 

“Complicated?” Nathan wondered.

 

“We were best friends for a long time before,” Connor explained.  “And there was kind of an in between period where we more than friends, but we weren’t dating.”

 

“In fact, it was kind of on our seventh grade camping trip, at a place a lot like this, that it all started changing,” Jude added.  “That was the first time he ever kissed me.”

 

“Oh I see, so somewhere like this brings back a lot of good memories,” Nathan guessed.  Jude and Connor both nodded, as they arrived at the main hall of the camp.

 

“Well hello boys and girls!” an overly cheery woman announced as they arrived, taking seats together.  “My name is Christine and I will be your camp director for the weekend!”  Jude immediately tuned her high-pitched, squeaky and almost grating voice out, instead deciding to focus on his boyfriend.  Connor turned, catching Jude’s eyes and smirking at him.  Jude blushed, breaking his eyes from Connor’s gaze and leaning up against him.

 

From next to them, Jason watched as the two shared their affection for each other, feeling a little more than disappointed that he couldn’t do the same with his boyfriend.  Nathan was terrified of coming out, mostly to his parents, but also to other people they didn’t know (only Nathan’s best friend knew about them), so the two spent most of their time behind closed doors, sneaking around.  Jason had no doubt that he liked, maybe even loved Nathan, but there was only so much of this he could handle.  Jason had hoped that coming to this camp together, away from Nathan’s family, away from everyone they knew, maybe he might take that first step, but other than Jude and Connor, which happened by accident, Nathan had been adamant that he wasn’t doing anything different at camp than he did at home, much to Jason’s frustration.  If he would just step out, and give coming out a shot, maybe it would be less terrifying, but Nathan wouldn’t listen to him.  There was only so much more of this Jason could take; he was worried this camp might be their last chance to really spend much time together.

 

“Does something look a little off about them to you?” Jude whispered in Connor’s ear, glancing over at Jason and Nathan.

 

“Hmmm?  Oh, maybe.  They are sitting pretty far apart,” Connor replied.  “I know what you’re thinking, but they might just not be comfortable being affectionate in public.  You know, I never thought you would be, but now you’re just all over me every chance you get.”  Jude snorted, earning glares from the people around them.  They stared at the two of them for a moment before returning to announcements that Jude and Connor weren’t listening to a word of.

 

“You bring it out of me.  You’re like a puppy, nobody can resist petting them, so it is with you; it’s impossible for me not to be affectionate with you,” Jude said.  “I know you’re probably right about Nathan and Jason.”

 

“But we should keep an eye on them.  I’m getting an odd feeling about what’s going on between them,” Connor added.

 

“Okay.”

 

 

Later that evening, the four were gathered around the fire pit outside their cabin, flames popping and crackling from the fire which had been lit for them by one of the counselors, laughing, joking and both couples enjoying having the company of the other.

 

“So you two are quite the, um, odd pair,” Nathan commented.  “It’s kind of like your classic nerd-jock stereotype going on here.”

 

“Who, him?” Jude teased, giggling softly and pointing at Connor.  “Nah, he just looks like a jock.  Don’t let him fool you; he’s actually a huge fucking nerd.”

 

“Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing, I know you love it,” Connor needled.

 

“Hmm, maybe,” Jude quipped, trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably, erupting into laughter.

 

“You two might be just the most fucking adorable couple I’ve ever laid eyes on,” Jason asserted.

 

“I don’t know, the two of you probably could give us a run for our money,” Connor retorted.

 

“Oh, no, it’s not even a contest!  I mean this one over here,” Nathan argued, taking Jason into his arms, “is super adorable but me, I’m just—”

 

“Oh shut up, you’re more adorable than me!” Jason interjected, leaning over and placing a kiss on Nathan, stopping his words and turning him bright red.

 

“Tell me why see them be all cute like this makes me feel like a proud mother hen preening over her chicks?” Jude asked, giving Connor a quick peck on the cheek.  “Like they’re our little baby couple or something.  I don’t know that didn’t make sense never mind don’t listen to me.”

 

“Okay dork,” Connor answered.

 

“Oh I’m the dork?  I beg to differ,” Jude protested.

 

“Beg?  I like the sound of that,” Connor smirked mischievously.

 

“Oh would you two stop it, you’re so sweet it’s making me sick!” Nathan yelled.

 

“Never!” Jude and Connor replied in unison.

 

 

“So I take it you two won’t tell on us sharing a bed, right?  I mean, since we’re not supposed to,” Jason questioned later in the cabin.

 

“Only if you don’t tell on us,” Connor quipped.

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jason answered, as the four climbed into their respective beds, turning out the lights, listening to the sound of the frogs and crickets floating in through the window.  It was rather cramped on the bottom of their twin sized bunk bed (Jude would’ve been afraid of falling off if it wasn’t for Connor’s strong arms) and it was a good thing that the two liked to fall asleep snuggled up.

 

“So now they have no problem being together and cuddling up?” Connor asked, finding that he was very curious about the other couple’s dynamic after Jude mentioned that something seemed off.  He tangled up their legs as he spoke, his voice barely audible to Jude who was only inches away, facing him on the pillow.  “I mean they literally kissed around the fire and yet at the meeting, they wouldn’t sit more than a foot close to each other.  That doesn’t make sense.”

 

“Maybe they’re not out yet,” Jude murmured.  “If you remember, they did seem pretty freaked out when we walked in on them.”

 

“I’m pretty sure they’re not out, but that doesn’t explain what I’m sensing from them.  I mean even when they were being all affectionate around the fire, it still felt like things were tense between them.  There was no giggling or anything like that, you know we _always_ do that when we joke around,” Connor argued.

 

“We still barely know them Connor,” Jude countered.  “Let’s just sleep now and see what happens tomorrow, okay?”

 

“Yeah, okay,” Connor yawned.  He adjusted himself so that he was on his back, laying out his arm for Jude to snuggle up into his side.  Jude happily obliged, resting his head on Connor’s chest as Connor threw the blanket over them.  They fell asleep quickly, resting in each other’s arms.

 

 

“YO!  Get up sleepy heads!” Jason shouted anxiously.  “We’re going hiking today!  I don’t want to be late and we can’t leave without you, so get your asses out of bed!” he finished, turning and walking out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him.

 

“Hey Con,” Jude spoke, voice still low and raspy from sleep.

 

“Morning babe,” Connor responded, getting a throaty giggle from Jude in reply.

 

“Babe?  That’s new.”

 

“You don’t like it?”

 

“Nah, I love it,” Jude answered, lifting his head which had rested on Connor’s chest all night and wiggling up so it was on the pillow with Connor, chastely giving him a kiss.  “Now we should probably get moving.  Wouldn’t want Jason to get upset.”

 

“Mmmm, do we have to?  We really should just stay like this all day,” Connor declared, nuzzling his head into the crook of Jude’s neck.

 

“Come on my sleeping prince, let’s go,” Jude urged.

 

“Mmmm,” Connor whined, letting Jude pull him up and out of the bed.

 

The two stumbled down to the main hall, quickly eating breakfast before meeting Jason and Nathan, along with the rest of the campers, at the trailhead.  Nathan and Jason were uncomfortably standing apart, glancing at each other every couple of seconds, almost as if they were trying to have a conversation with their eyes, an unspoken tension hanging over them, Connor thought.  It was just another puzzling action between them that Jude added to his (already fairly long) list.  He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he intended on finding out.

 

“Okay everyone!  We will be hiking this trail to the end and back!  It’s about six miles roundtrip, so I hope you are all ready for this, it’s going to be long!” Christine announced cheerfully.  Far too cheerfully, Jude thought as he looked at the trail, which was narrow, uphill and littered with rocks and roots on the path.

 

“You better not let me fall,” Jude hissed sternly, seeing a large number of places where it would be far too easy to miss seeing a root and trip.

 

“I would never,” Connor replied.  “I mean no need to mess up that pretty face of yours.”

 

“Well as long as I know where your priorities are.” Jude said, jokingly sticking out his tongue at Connor as he entwined his fingers with Connor’s, the two setting off on the hike.  They received a couple questioning glances, and one boy was glaring at them, but no one said a word.  They both smiled, glad that no one seemed to really care about them being together.

 

“Can you hear what they’re—” Jude asked Connor a little ways up the trail, as he started to hear intense whispers from Nathan and Jason behind him.

 

“Shhh, I’m trying to listen,” Connor said, cutting him off.

 

“Don’t you ever wish we could be like that?” Jason whispered to Nathan who was walking next to him, close enough that they occasionally brushed shoulders (that was as close as Jason dared to get), the two trailing a few steps behind Jude and Connor.

 

“It’s not like we don’t do the same things they do,” Nathan countered.

 

“Not like them.  They’re not constantly looking over their shoulders to check if someone might see them,” Jason retorted.  “They’re just together.  There’s no fear of being judged or being found out.”

 

“We can’t be _just_ like them Jason, you know that,” Nathan said sadly.

 

“I thought we came here so we _could_ be like that for a couple of days,” Jason argued.  “I mean, there’s no one here that we know, things can’t go wrong!”

 

“Really how can you say that?  Have you never seen a movie before?  Every time anyone says nothing could go wrong, something does!”

 

“You know what, fine, you’re probably right,” Jason conceded insincerely.  “I was just being stupid, sorry it won’t happen again.”  He picked up his pace, shoving his hands in his pockets and pushing past Jude and Connor, leaving Nathan by himself.

 

“What the hell just happened?” Connor wondered, after hearing the conversation that just took place.

 

“They were arguing over coming out.  Apparently Nathan doesn’t want to,” Jude replied.

 

“Yeah, well I got that, I just want to know why,” Connor said, stopping abruptly, intending to wait for Nathan to catch up.  “We should talk to him, you know, see what’s going on.”

 

“I mean maybe?  I don’t know that it’s really our business,” Jude reasoned.

 

“Oh come on Jude, we went through this exact same thing with my dad!” Connor argued.  “We could help them!”

 

“Okay fine, maybe we could,” Jude sighed.  “But let’s give them some time, they just had an argument.  They need to cool down a bit.”

 

“Okay,” Connor agreed, starting to walk up the trail again, pondering the argument he had heard the other couple having.  “Do you ever wonder what might have happened to us if I never came out?”

 

“No, because you did and it doesn’t matter anymore,” Jude admitted.

 

“Oh, I mean cause I was just thinking, like what if we had turned into them?  Would we still be together now?” Connor wondered.

 

“No, we wouldn’t be,” Jude conceded.  “I couldn’t have snuck around with you that long, no matter how much I would’ve wanted to, especially since you were insisting on continuing to date Daria.”

 

“I wasn’t going to keep dating her you know,” Connor explained. “That night when Taylor suggested so eloquently that we should ‘get drunk and make out’, I wasn’t planning on making out with anyone except you.”

 

“Well, there’s no way to know how things would’ve turned out since Taylor’s dad so rudely interrupted us.”

 

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever properly thanked him for shooting me in the foot,” Connor giggled.  “Cause thanks to that, now I get to do this whenever I want,” he added, pulling on Jude’s arm, spinning him around and trying to pull him in for a kiss, but as Connor spun him in, Jude’s feet hit a tree root, causing him to lose his balance and sending them both tumbling to the ground.  Connor used his arms to pull Jude in, rotating his body so that Jude fell on top of him.

 

“What, you get to trip me whenever you want to, is that what you were trying to imply?” Jude teased, once he was certain Connor wasn’t hurt.

 

“No, that’s not it at all,” Connor said softly, pushing Jude’s bangs over and getting lost in the Jude’s deep brown eyes, leaning forward and capturing Jude’s lips in a slow, gentle kiss.  “I was talking about that.”

 

“Hmmm, you’re right; maybe Taylor’s dad does deserve some token of our appreciation.  How about like a gift basket or something,” Jude suggested jokingly, standing up and pulling Connor to his feet (okay Jude didn’t really pull him to his feet; Connor did most of the work because Jude had no muscle).  “No wait, how about the fruit of the month club!”

 

“Wow you’ve been watching too much _Everybody Loves Raymond_ ,” Connor chortled.  “And yet you have the nerve to call _me_ the dork!” (A/N: Okay but for real, I’m dork here for making that joke)

 

“Oh shut up you’re still a bigger dork than me!  Come on, let’s catch up before they think something happened to us.”

 

Jason and Nathan kept their distance from each other most of the rest of the day.  Connor wanted to jump in and start trying to fix things, but Jude was sure that they just needed more time.  As much as Connor might have been right about being able to help them, Jude firmly believed that they should wait and see if the two of them would work it out on their own first, and so he convinced Connor to wait until the next day.  Now they were sitting around a fire with all the other campers who were chatting away with all the new friends they had made.  Jude and Connor were sitting together, Connor’s head drooping onto Jude’s shoulder.  Jason and Nathan were sitting on opposite sides of the fire, shooting glares at each other over the flames.

 

“Who wants to hear a ghost story?” one of the counselors loudly announced, receiving a chorus of campers shouting in agreement.  Jude rolled his eyes, certain that this was some ploy to scare everyone over some fake event that supposedly happened “in this very spot, on a night much like this one,” or so the story usually went.  Connor perked up, his eyes going wide and his grip on Jude’s hand that he had been holding since they arrived tightening.

 

“You know these stories aren’t real,” Jude whispered, patting Connor’s leg with their clasped hands.  “They’re just trying to scare us.”

 

“But what if they are real?” Connor questioned seriously, making Jude laugh.

 

“If they are real, I promise I’ll protect you,” Jude chortled.

 

“Many years ago, around this very same fire pit, on a night not too different from this one—” the counselor began, earning an exasperating groan from Jude.

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he whispered to Connor, who wasn’t listening to him, instead engrossed in the story.  Jude didn’t listen, instead watching Connor, getting a kick out of his reactions; his eyes going wide, color draining from his face, mouth hanging open as he ate up every word.  There was sound, much like one a stick would make when broken by the footfall of a person, that came from behind them.  Connor gasped, his head swiveling to look behind them.  Seeing nothing, he turned his attention to the fire pit, drawing closer to Jude, who giggled at his boyfriend, who was so gullible as to not know what was happening in the moment, the entire camp being set up by the counselors.

 

After a few moments, there was another noise, one that sounded more like a throaty growl, accompanied by a clicking reminiscent of teeth gnashing together.  Connor didn’t turn around this time, sitting up and freezing, stiff as a board.  Jude wasn’t sure what the ghost story was about itself, not having listened to a word himself, but he knew what was coming next.

 

“ARRRRRGGGGGGH!” came a screech from behind them.  Connor jumped, leaping up and pulling Jude with him away from the source of the sound, screaming like a small child.  Jude couldn’t hold back his howling laughter.  He had no idea Connor scared so easily.  Once they reached a point where Connor must have felt like they were safely far enough away from the noise, he wrapped his arms around Jude, gripping him tightly.  Jude returned the gesture, noting how Connor’s body was fluttering like a leaf in the breeze, his heart racing and pounding out of his chest.

 

“Connor, Connor look,” Jude cooed, trying to stifle his giggles as he lightly rubbed soothing circles into Connor’s back.  “It’s just the camp counselors.  There’s no danger or anything.”

 

“O-okay,” Connor replied shakily, not removing his head from its spot, perched on Jude’s shoulder.

 

“You know, you’re adorable when you’re terrified,” Jude said, leading them back to their spot on the bench.

 

“Shut up,” Connor muttered.

 

Connor was still jumpy when the two of them crawled into bed an hour later, Connor immediately curling up into Jude, opposite to how they had slept the night before.  Out of the corner of his eye, Connor noticed Nathan climbing up, settling into the upper bunk, a frown chasing across his lips.

 

“They’re not sleeping together,” Connor whispered concernedly.

 

“Well there’s not much we can do now, it’s lights out anyway,” Jude replied.

 

“We have to do something though, this doesn’t look good for them at all,” Connor countered.

 

“And we will, but for right now let’s just sleep Con.”

 

“Okay.  Love you.  Night babe,” Connor said, pressing a short kiss to Jude’s lips before settling his head onto Jude’s chest (which for his skinny frame, was surprisingly soft and comfortable).

 

“Love you too.  Night Con.”

 

 

The next morning they woke to find that Jason had already left, leaving Nathan slumbering in the top bunk.  As Jude was a light sleeper, he couldn’t help but notice that both Nathan and Jason were quite restless during the night, constantly tossing and turning, rustling their blankets and keeping Jude awake.

 

They untangled their bodies, getting out of bed and tossing clean clothes on.  Jude walked over, gently shaking Nathan awake, revealing bloodshot eyes with dark circles underneath and blotchy cheeks.

 

“J-J-Jude,” Nathan stuttered, hurriedly covering his face.  “I-is it time to get up already?”

 

“Yeah,” Jude replied, giving Nathan’s shoulder a light squeeze before joining Connor to go to breakfast.

 

There they announced that today the camp would be going canoeing, one cabin to a boat.  Jude glanced at Connor who was smirking, and turned to whisper in his ear.

 

“We’re gonna make them sit together okay?” Connor said.  Jude nodded in agreement.  Maybe forcing them together would get them to talk.  They finished eating in silence, scarfing down their food as fast as they could manage, rushing down to the docks and finding their boat, taking their seats in the bow early and waiting for the other two to appear.

 

Jason sauntered down to join them first, surveying the boat and letting out a small sigh, resignedly taking his seat in the stern, trying to use his eyes to bore a hole through Jude’s head.  Nathan quickly followed, taking his seat next to Jason without a sound escaping his lips.

 

“Wow you look like shit,” Jason commented as he glanced at the boy next to him a few minutes later, taking in the disheveled state of his face, after they had started paddling out into the lake, following the other campers who in turn were following the counselor’s canoe.

 

“Yeah, all thanks to you,” Nathan shot back.

 

“Oh, do not go there, do not make this my fault because it’s not,” Jason retorted.

 

“How is this my fault?” Nathan spat.

 

“If you would just—”

 

“ _Jason!_ ”

 

“If you would just do it, we wouldn’t be in this mess, so yeah, it is your fault,” Jason sneered.

 

“It’s like you’re just completely disregarding my feelings, I swear I’ve told you a thousand times why I can’t do that!” Nathan replied, his voice getting louder.

 

“I’ve listened Nathan, and I’ve been far more patient that I should’ve been,” Jason answered, his voice quickly quieting, anger and annoyance disappearing and being replaced by sadness, his voice also shaking gently.  “But I—I’m at the end of my rope.  If you can’t do something then—then it’s over.”

 

“Jas—”

 

“Connor, can you switch with me please?” Jason continued firmly, keeping his eyes straight ahead and ignoring the boy beginning to blubber beside him.

 

“Sure,” Connor sighed.  Well that hadn’t worked like he had hoped, which left one option; they were going to have to step in.  Jude met his eyes, nodding grimly, almost as if he was reading Connor’s thoughts.  After this was over, they would sit them both down and give them some advice; hopefully that would start to smooth things over for Nathan and Jason.

 

Connor stood up, as did Jason.  The sudden motion however, destabilized the delicate trim of the already overloaded canoe, pitching Jason forward, catapulting him over Nathan and over the side, splashing into the lake.  The loss of Jason’s weight sent the boat rocking the other direction, the edge dipping under the water, dunking Jude as Connor toppled over into the water.  The momentum of the boat’s motion was too much, and it flipped, turning turtle and staying afloat only due to the pocket of air trapped underneath the hull.

 

Jude surfaced a few feet away spluttering, spitting out water from his mouth and looking around, searching for the other boys.  Connor’s head bobbed on top of the small waves a short distance away, glancing around, apparently doing the same thing as Jude.  Jason came frantically paddling around from the other side of the capsized canoe, leaving Nathan the only one unaccounted for.

 

“He doesn’t know how to swim!” Jason exclaimed.  Jude turned to Connor, trying to point to the boat.

 

“Underneath,” he spluttered.  Connor dived, kicking off towards the boat and resurfacing inside the overturned canoe, finding Nathan clinging to one of the benches in the boat.

 

“Breathe!” Connor commanded, so Nathan took a deep breath, and Connor grabbed him, diving under the surface again, coming up out from the boat, kicking towards the shore with Nathan firmly in his grasp, Jude and Jason following not far behind.

 

Landing on the shore a few moments later, the four collapsed on the beach, breathing heavily.

 

“You can’t blame me for that,” Nathan bickered.  “Though I’m sure you’ll try.”

 

“Oh my God, you almost died would you give it a rest!” Jason yelled, stalking back to the cabin.  He rushed inside, rapidly peeling off his wet clothes and tossing on dry clothes before diving into the bed and burying his face into the pillow.  Why was this all so hard?  Why couldn’t Nathan see things from his point of view for once?  He just wanted to show off his boyfriend, be proud of their relationship just like Jude and Connor were.  Why was that so scary to Nathan?  And why was Nathan blaming him for all their problems?  Sure, maybe he wasn’t blameless, but it wasn’t _all_ his fault.

 

“Hey,” someone said feebly.  He couldn’t really tell who it was, but he assumed it was Nathan, and Nathan was the last person he wanted to talk to right now.

 

“Go away!” Jason screamed, his voice muted by the pillow.

 

“Relax Jason, it’s Jude.”

 

“O-oh Jude, what are you doing here?” Jason asked weakly, flipping over so that he wasn’t smashing his face into the pillow any more.

 

“I just thought you might want to talk,” Jude explained, standing awkwardly in his still wet clothes, facing Jason.

 

“What is there to talk about?  It’s obvious Nathan doesn’t care about what I want or what I feel, so somehow he thinks all of this is my fault because I don’t care about his feelings exactly the way he wants me to,” Jason spat, focusing all of his energy towards keeping his voice from wavering.

 

“I don’t think that’s true at all Jason.”

 

“And how would you know?”

 

“Because—because it wasn’t that long ago I was dealing with the same things as you, I mean maybe not the part about Nathan blaming you, but about him not understanding your feelings” Jude explained.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well we overheard you two arguing yesterday, and before Connor came out, I had to deal with him being afraid like Nathan is, and God it was so frustrating.  He would hold my pinkie in a dark movie theater, kiss me in my bedroom and play footsie with me while doing homework alone, but then anytime we were in public, he kept what felt like miles of distance between us, hanging out with his girlfriend as a cover up for his dad.  I just couldn’t understand why he was so scared, why it felt like he was trying to hide me like he was ashamed or something.  I had told him I didn’t want to be anyone’s secret, and yet I was.  I made a sacrifice for him in that moment, but it didn’t take me long to get where I was losing my willingness to do that.  I’m guessing that’s probably where you’re at now,” Jude said.

 

“Yeah,” Jason replied, speaking slowly.  “I think that about describes it.  So what did you do?”

 

“Well it really wasn’t a matter of what I did but what accidentally happened.  One night, Connor and I snuck out with his girlfriend at the time, Daria, and her best friend, Taylor.  To make a long story short about what happened, we ended up sneaking into Taylor’s house to steal alcohol, her dad woke up and Connor got shot in the foot.”

 

“That sounds so scary,” Jason shuddered.  “I’m guessing that probably felt the same as what just happened to Nathan on the lake.”

 

“Well yeah I would guess, I mean it was really scary in the moment, but Connor ended up being fine, just like Nathan is.  But that night, Connor’s dad told me he didn’t want me to see Connor anymore; that we couldn’t be friends, because Connor told him everything that happened that night was my idea.  And as I found out later, Connor’s dad made it up to justify keeping us apart, because Connor literally came out to him that night.  At that point, I then understood why Connor was so scared, why he did all that he did.  It wasn’t because he was ashamed, it was because he cared about me so much that he was willing to go to those lengths to keep us together.  He knew what his dad was going to try to do and he wanted to shield me—us from that,” Jude continued, stepping over and standing next to Jason, who had moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed.  “So give him some credit; there might be more going on, more to what he’s doing than you know.  And I think you should go back down to the beach and talk to him.  Just talk, don’t argue, but discuss what’s going on.  Make sure you listen and get his point of view, okay?”

 

“I—okay yeah,” Jason sighed.

 

 

Down at the beach, after Connor had urged Jude to talk to Jason, he went to talk to Nathan.

 

“So tell me Nathan, what’s really going on here?” Connor admonished.  Nathan opened and closed his mouth, eyes focused on the gentle waves lapping up on the shore of the lake as he tried to speak.  “What is it you’re really afraid of?”

 

“I—I don’t know and that’s what makes this so stupid,” Nathan admitted, eyes moving to stare at his hands that he was wringing nervously.  “I guess maybe I’m afraid of losing him because of what my parents might say.”

 

“You know, Jude and I went through something very similar because of my dad,” Connor disclosed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, recalling the guilt and regret of that first period of their relationship.  “I put him through hell due to everything I did to keep from losing him because of my dad.  And then I almost lost him anyway.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“I knew I liked Jude for a long time, but I was blinded by my fear.  I snuck around, doing things with him in secret, never really caring about what I was putting him through.  I was afraid of my dad, because he never liked Jude much, and I was terrified that if he found out I was gay, he would think I had feelings for Jude and separate us.  I mean that was the truth, but I just couldn’t think about losing Jude, so I did everything I could to throw my dad off,” Connor revealed.  “Then one night, we snuck out and I got shot in the foot and in the stress of the moment at the hospital, I came out.  And I’ll be honest with you, it wasn’t easy after that, because my dad did try to keep us apart like I feared he would, but it worked out and he came around, but now things with Jude, and my dad, are better than ever.  All I’m saying is, don’t let your fear keep you from being happy, and don’t let it keep you from talking to Jason and trying to work things out.  Even if you don’t come out soon, you have to talk to him about what you’re feeling, and listen to what he’s feeling.  Communication is so important, okay?”  Nathan nodded.  “Okay, well here he comes, so just talk.  Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you can work it out,” Connor added, giving Nathan a pat on the back before standing up and joining Jude who was trailing a few steps behind Jason.

 

“You think this is going to work?” Jude asked, wrapping an arm around Connor’s torso and leaning up against him.

 

“I hope so, fingers crossed,” Connor replied.

 

“I think I need to apologize for being a jerk,” Jason said softly, sitting down on the sand next to Nathan and grabbing his hand.

 

“You were just saying the things you’ve been saying to me all along,” Nathan argued.  “I’ve just never listened and I’ve been ignoring your side of things because I’ve been so certain that what I was doing would keep me from losing you.  I feel terrible and I’m just so sorry.”

 

“I don’t think I’ve been seeing things from your point of view either,” Jason countered.  “I know you really don’t have a supportive family and I know that’s really hard and I’ve been putting way too much pressure on you.”

 

“No stop it!  You’ve never changed; you’ve always stayed true to what you’ve said, even though you’ve made compromises for me because you like me that much.  It’s time that I take a step towards you instead of you always coming to me.  I have to stop being scared because I don’t want lose you and if I don’t get over it, I know I will,” Nathan replied, tears pricking his eyes and rolling down his cheeks as he spoke.

 

“I didn’t mean what I said in the boat, I never could—” Jason started to say, before Nathan cut him off, kissing him even as the tears continued to fall from his eyes onto Jason’s face.

 

“I love you,” Jason breathed out.

 

“I’m ready now,” Nathan whispered in reply.  “I want everyone to know you’re mine.  I’m not afraid of what might happen anymore, because as long as I love you and you love me, we can figure it out.”

 

“God, I love you so much,” Jason repeated.

 

“I love you too.  Now I should probably get out of these clothes,” Nathan giggled, standing up and offering Jason his hand.  They walked away together, hand in hand towards the cabin, unaware of the smattering of applause floating out over the water from the boats that had stopped to watch the two of them.

 

 Once they were behind them, Jude gave Connor a high-five.

 

“I can’t believe that actually worked!” he buzzed, grinning at Connor.  “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”

 

“Hmm, yeah I think so, but I don’t mind hearing it again,” Connor replied smirking, bringing Jude in close.  “Cause I love you too.”

 

“Oh you big sap,” Jude teased, snaking his arms around Connor’s neck.

 

“Let’s not go there again, you know what I’m gonna say.”

 

“Yeah, I know, I love it,” Jude answered softly, tilting his head up slightly and using his arms, pulled Connor’s head down and connected their lips.  “Now we should probably change into something…less wet,” Jude giggled when they pulled apart.

 

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Connor smirked, waggling his eyebrows at Jude.

 

“Not at the same time Con!  We need to behave, remember?” Jude protested.  Connor pouted, letting out an exaggerated sigh as he spun Jude around, pointing them towards the cabin.

 

“Fine, but you owe me later,” Connor griped.

 

“That’s what _you_ think!”

 

 

The next day was Sunday, their last day of camp, and Jude and Connor decided to head to the beach and swim for a while before Connor’s dad came to pick them up later.  Nathan and Jason eagerly decided to tag along.  The beach was mostly deserted, save for a couple of people lying out on towels, apparently trying to tan in spite of the gray clouds which blocked the sun from view.  In contrast to when they had walked down to the main hall just two days earlier, Jason and Nathan’s hands were tightly entwined, the two walking together as closely as they could manage.  Nathan sighed contentedly.

 

“This feels amazing, I mean I just—” he paused, turning to face Jude and Connor who were only a few steps behind them.  “Thanks guys, for everything.”

 

“Oh, it was no problem really, we were happy to help you two out,” Jude responded.

 

“No really, thanks.  I’m pretty sure we both would’ve made a terrible mistake if it wasn’t for your words,” Jason replied, laying out his towel on the almost gray-ish looking sand.

 

“Well I’m glad you two figured it out,” Connor said, taking off his shirt and settling down next to Jude, who had already put down their towels.

 

“Me too,” Nathan grinned, grabbing Jason and dragging him into the water, screaming happily.

 

“Something tells me you really didn’t want to come to the beach to swim,” Connor said smugly, examining Jude whose eyes were roaming everywhere except for Connor’s face.

 

“You may be right about that,” Jude blushed.

 

“I mean, not that I’m surprised, you are dating me because I’m eye candy, right?”

 

“Yeah, that’s true, but then why are you dating me?  I’m anything but,” Jude quipped.

 

“You, Jude Adams-Foster, are quite honestly the hottest boy that I ever laid my eyes on, and I’ve seen myself in the mirror,” Connor said sincerely (though a little bit of a joking tone may have seeped in at the end).

 

“Oh hush Connor, I am not hot,” Jude protested, taking off his shirt because it was actually quite warm outside and Jude felt like he was overheating.

 

“Hmm,” Connor mused, eyes raking over Jude’s body, making the blush on Jude’s cheeks darken.  “I’m sorry Jude, but I think the evidence disagrees with you,” Connor commented finally.

 

“Y-you really think so?” Jude stuttered slightly, as Connor leaned over, his face almost touching Jude’s, so that he could feel the warm air from Connor’s lungs rushing over his lips and cheeks.

 

“Yep!” Connor said, popping the “p” before closing the small gap between them, brushing their lips together for a brief second before they were shocked by cold water being dumped on them. 

 

“Get a room!”

 

Looking over to see Jason and Nathan both holding a bucket, Connor turned to Jude who screamed _“Get ‘em!”_ , teaming up against the other couple, splashing around in the water until Adam appeared on the beach, screaming at the two of them that it was time to go.  The four rushed up to their cabin, hurriedly tossing clothes in their bags and sprinting out the door.

 

“Keep in touch,” Jude told the other two as they stood in the parking lot by Adam’s car.

 

“I promise we will,” Jason replied.

 

“Gosh, it was so great meeting you guys, we have to get together some other time!” Connor exclaimed.

 

“Yeah we will—”

 

“Connor, Jude!  Let’s get moving!” Adam yelled out the window of his sedan, tapping his fingers impatiently on the exterior of the door.

 

“Okay, well text!  We’ll all get together soon,” Jude yapped rapidly, giving both Nathan and Jason a short embrace before climbing into the car, Connor close behind.

 

“You two have a good time?” Adam asked once they were on the road, speeding back to San Diego.

 

“The best!” Jude and Connor answered together.

 

“Well I’m glad to hear that,” Adam chuckled.  “Hey, those two other guys I saw, they looked pretty cute together you know, I mean not as cute as you two but—”

 

“Daaaaaaad!”

 

Back in the parking lot, Jason and Nathan stood in the parking lot, waiting for Nathan’s mom to come pick them up.  As her SUV pulled up, Nathan took a deep breath, Jason squeezing his hand as the two climbed into the car.

 

“So how was camp?” she inquired, glancing back at the two of them in the rearview mirror.

 

“It was great, I mean we met these two guys in our cabin who were just really nice and we had a good time hanging out with them, they really helped me realize something important,” Nathan replied.

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yeah, there’s something really important I need to tell you,” Nathan continued shyly.  “Mom, I’m—I’m gay and Jason is my boyfriend!” he blurted out.

 

“And that’s supposed to be news to me…how?”

 

“I-I’m sorry, w-what?” Nathan answered weakly, his face heating up.

 

“Honey, you two may have been good at sneaking around, but those looks you were always giving each other, I mean dear, I’m not blind,” she explained gently.

 

“S-so you don’t—”

 

“Oh son, we could never, did you really think that?”

 

“Told you,” Jason whispered.

 

“Oh shut up,” Nathan mumbled.

 

“Make me,” Jason challenged.

 

“Fine,” Nathan replied, leaning over and kissing him gently.

 

“Oh love, you’ll never guess what happened!” Nathan’s mom squealed, talking into her cellphone.  “It finally happened!”

 

Nathan couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end, but judging by his mom’s smiles, it was all good things.

 

“I think I really owe you an apology for being super dumb,” Nathan muttered.

 

“Nah, it’s okay.  Kiss me again and all is forgiven.”

 

“Gladly.”


End file.
